Diego gnced at the darkening sky before addressing the group. "We'll be staying here for the next few days, at least until the spring dries up. Don't waste this opportunity—train your body, sharpen your skills. With the spring replenishing our stamina, sleep won't be necessary."

  Murmurs spread through the group, some nodding in agreement while others still seemed uncertain. The idea of going without sleep was strange, but the effects of the spring had already proven its miraculous properties.

  Rain, still processing everything, clenched his fists. This was his chance. If he was going to become an Essence Whisperer, he had to be ready.

  Diego turned to Rain, a confident smirk on his face. "Let's go and make you one of us."

  Rain took a deep breath, steadying himself. He could feel the weight of the moment pressing down on him, but he pushed aside any hesitation. This was the path he had chosen.

  Without another word, he followed Diego toward the center of the camp, where the ritual would begin.

  Emily followed soon after, her expression unreadable. She gnced at Rain but said nothing, simply walking beside him.

  Rain felt a mix of anticipation and unease. He had seen Essence Whisperers in action, but experiencing the transformation himself was a different matter. Still, there was no turning back now.

  Diego led them to a clear space near the spring, where the ritual would take pce. He turned to Rain. "Sit down and clear your mind. This will take time."

  Rain sat down, still feeling a bit uneasy.

  Diego pulled out a jar of wolf's blood and said casually, "Take off your clothes."

  Rain blinked. "What? Why?"

  Diego gave him a ft look. "Unless you want your clothes reeking of wolf blood, I suggest you strip."

  Rain hesitated but eventually followed the order, sighing as he pulled off his shirt.

  Without warning, Diego tilted the jar and poured the thick, warm liquid over Rain’s body. Rain shuddered at the sensation, resisting the urge to wipe it off.

  Just as he was getting used to the uncomfortable feeling, Diego pulled out another jar. "Drink this too."

  Rain recoiled. "What?! You want me to drink raw wolf blood?"

  Diego smirked at his reaction. "Stop compining. Me and Emily went through the same thing."

  Grimacing, Rain took the jar, hesitated for a moment, then forced himself to down it in one go. The taste was metallic and bitter, and he coughed as it burned down his throat.

  "This is disgusting," he muttered, wiping his mouth.

  Diego chuckled, then reached into his bag and pulled out the wolf’s horn. "Here, hold this. It’s the catalyst for the ritual."

  Rain took the horn, his skin still slick with wolf blood as it dripped onto the ground.

  "So... what now?" he asked, his voice uneasy.

  Diego looked at Rain seriously. "Before I continue the ritual, I need you to understand what you'll have to do once you enter your inner realm."

  Rain furrowed his brows. "Inner realm?"

  Diego nodded. "Once you're inside, you'll see nothing but darkness—except for a small crack in the air, glowing with light. That crack is the lock preventing you from conversing with essence. Your task is to break it."

  Rain asked in puzzlement, "And how do I do that exactly?"

  Diego smirked. "That's for you to figure out. Everyone's inner realm is different, and so is the way they break their lock."

  Emily crossed her arms. "Some manage it easily. Others struggle. But in the end, it's all about your willpower."

  Rain frowned, gripping the wolf's horn tighter. "Sounds vague."

  Diego chuckled. "It is. Now, are you ready?"

  Rain simply said "Yes"

  Diego remarked, "Remember, essence isn't just an external force you can harness. It becomes a part of you, connected to you. You can only channel essence through connection."

  With a smirk Diego simply said. "I'll be knocking you out now."

  Rain blinked in surprise. "Wait, wha—"

  Before he could finish, Diego's hand struck the side of his neck with precision. His vision blurred, and in an instant, everything went bck.

  Emily chuckled. "The foreign essence flowing through his body and into the horn would've knocked him out anyway."

  Diego smirked. "True, but this way is quicker. No harm in speeding up the process."

  Rain awoke to complete and utter darkness. His surroundings were an empty void, stretching endlessly in all directions. The only thing that stood out was a thin fissure in the air, faintly glowing with a soft blue light.

  Rain eyed the glowing fracture in the darkness, his voice echoing slightly in the empty space.

  "So this is my inner realm, huh."

  Rain didn’t hesitate—he charged at the glowing crack and threw a punch.

  The impact sent a sharp pain through his knuckles, but the crack remained unchanged.

  He winced, shaking his hand. "Well… that didn’t work."

  Rain clenched his teeth, shaking off the pain from his first strike. His knuckles ached, but he refused to believe it was impossible. He had fought creatures stronger than him, survived situations that should have killed him—there was no way he was going to be stopped by some glowing rupture in the air.

  He steadied himself and threw another punch. The impact jolted up his arm, his fist throbbing from the force, but the fracture didn’t so much as flicker.

  'Damn it.'

  Rain took a step back, breathing hard. His mind raced for an answer. 'Diego said to break it, but how? It's just hanging there, and I can't even scratch it.'

  His eyes narrowed as he studied the rupture. It was so small, yet it radiated something—something powerful. Like it was ughing at his efforts, like it knew he couldn’t break it.

  That thought pissed him off.

  With a growl, Rain stepped forward and struck again. And again. Every hit felt like smming his fist against solid stone, and each time, the pain only got worse.

  His breath turned ragged, his arms heavy.

  'What the hell am I doing wrong?'

  He tried kicking it—no effect. He even raked his nails against the glowing surface, hoping to find some weakness, but there was nothing.

  'If this thing is a lock, shouldn’t there be a way to force it open?'

  Rain backed away, hands on his knees as he caught his breath. His whole body ached, exhaustion creeping in faster than it should.

  Then, a thought struck him.

  'What if I just don’t have enough strength? What if I can’t break it?'

  The idea sat in his mind like a weight pressing down on his chest. He never considered failure—not seriously. But now, standing here, seeing no progress no matter what he did… doubt started creeping in.

  'What if I stay stuck here forever?'

  Rain shook his head, forcing the doubt away. 'No. I’ve made it this far. I’m not stopping now.'

  With renewed determination, he pulled back his fist and smmed it against the rupture again. Pain exploded through his knuckles, but he gritted his teeth and swung again. And again.

  Hours passed.

  Sweat dripped down his face. His breath was ragged, his body aching from exhaustion. Every muscle screamed at him to stop, but he refused.

  He tried everything—punching, kicking, smming his shoulder into it. He even tried cwing at the fracture, hoping to pry it open. Nothing worked. The crack remained unchanged, as if mocking his efforts.

  Rain staggered back, arms trembling. His legs felt like they could barely hold him up. His vision blurred from exhaustion, but he didn’t stop staring at the rupture.

  'There has to be a way.'

  He clenched his fists, breathing heavily. 'I just have to find it.'

  Rain’s breaths were heavy, his body aching from the relentless assault on the rupture. His knuckles throbbed, his strength waning.

  Then, Diego’s words echoed in his mind.

  "Essence isn’t just an external force. It becomes a part of you, connected to you. You can only channel essence through connection."

  Rain’s eyes widened slightly. 'Connection…'

  He had been treating this like a wall that needed to be broken. But what if it wasn’t about force? What if it wasn’t about brute strength at all?

  He took a deep breath, calming his racing thoughts. Slowly, he pced his palm against the crack, fingers trembling. Instead of attacking it, he focused on feeling it—on understanding it.

  'If essence is a part of me… then this thing, this lock… it’s a part of me too, isn’t it?'

  The fracture pulsed faintly under his touch.

  Rain closed his eyes, trying to reach out—not with his fists, but with something deeper.

  Rain gritted his teeth as sharp, invisible edges dug into his palm, drawing thin lines of blood. The pain was sharp but not unbearable—he had felt worse.

  Still, he didn’t pull away.

  'This thing is a part of me… then I have to understand it,' he thought, keeping his hand pressed against the rupture.

  The blue glow flickered in response, as if acknowledging his presence. The jagged edges dug deeper, but Rain remained firm. He wasn’t going to punch or shatter it blindly. If Diego was right, then brute force wasn’t the key—connection was.

  His breathing slowed. He focused.

  'What are you? Why are you here?'

  The rupture pulsed again, but this time, the pain lessened, just slightly.

  Rain kept his palm pressed against the rupture, his breathing steady despite the pain. The sharp edges still cut into his skin, but something was different now. The more he focused, the less the pain felt, not an attack and more like… a response.

  His eyes narrowed.

  'It’s not rejecting me. It’s testing me.'

  Rain had been trying to break this thing like it was an obstacle. Like it was something separate from him. But if essence was connection… then this wasn’t a wall to shatter. It was a door to open.

  Closing his eyes, Rain steadied his mind and let himself truly feel the rupture. Not just its glow or the way it cut him—but its presence. Its essence.

  And then, something clicked.

  The pain faded. The glow pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat. He wasn’t forcing his way through anymore. He was resonating with it.

  Taking a slow breath, Rain clenched his fingers around the rupture—not to break it, but to unlock it.

  Cracks spread from where he touched, glowing brighter and brighter until—

  With a sound like shattering gss, the rupture burst apart.

  The door had been opened

  A surge of energy flooded through him.

  A blinding light consumed his vision, and for a moment, Rain felt weightless—adrift in something vast and unknowable. Then, sensation returned. Cool water swirled around his feet, gentle yet constant, as if the ocean itself was alive.

  As his vision cleared, his breath hitched.

  He stood in the middle of a shallow ocean, its surface an endless expanse of glowing, vibrant blue. The water shimmered with an otherworldly light, pulsing like a heartbeat, while countless tiny blue stars drifted in the air around him, illuminating the horizon.

  But what truly stole his breath was the sky.

  Hanging above it all, impossibly massive and radiant, was a colossal blue moon. Its glow was soft yet powerful, bathing everything in a serene, dreamlike light.

  Rain could only stare, utterly awestruck.